Digital Stories; Living Theory

The Context of the Inquiry

NS 621 Knowledge Development in Advanced Nursing Practice,

Summer 2011

Student Voices Heard

Findings: (from student narratives)

Students became quite tech savy & resourceful.

I have l learned I can make a movie. I didn’t even know I had this software on my computer.
 
I really enjoyed creating a digital story, despite having to leap out of my comfort zone.

I now know I can create movies and record audio quite proficiently.

 
Express the unexpressed

“ This project provided me with an outlet to express simmering ideas that had not yet been organized into words”

Creating the story made me very sad. It was harder than I thought to deal with my own emotions in the making of the story.

 
Aesthetic/Reflective component

“ The addition of choosing pictures as well as music allowed for expression that would not have come simply out of writing a journal”< /i>

In reflecting on the process, I am amazed of all the stories that filled my mind when thinking about what has shaped my nursing paradigm”.
 
Through thinking about and reflecting on my memory of my patient & then sharing my experience vial a digital story, I was amazed to reflect & realize that yes, this story had deeply impacted me more than I initially realized.
 
It was not until after this assignment required me to reflect upon the events of the actual story, that I learned how much it had who I am as a nurse.
 
Putting together this story helped me to focus on the personal & how this story scenario had affected me professionally.
 
I wrote my reflection in short order & the story seemed to write itself!
 
While I was really pressed for time, I am glad we had time to chat and just sit and remember. This was much more than just gathering photos. It was a true bonding experience. I plan to revisit my project when classes are over and add to it, just for him. My next digital story will be a blockbuster. Well, maybe, just for us.

 
Reinforced course concepts

Finding a nursing theory that so clearly related to my personal experience was encouraging, as it validated my experience in the sense that others share similar ideas.
 
One of the things I learned in doing my story is that theory truly comes from reflection of lived lives, and the story I shared is no different.

-now have a deeper understanding of ‘knowing’

This project has caused me to massively reflect on what it means to be a nurse and about the situations of the elderly.

Applying Newman’s theory of HEC corroborated my my feelings and actions of nursing in telling this story. It was exciting to analyze a nursing theory and find true meaning in my own practice.

 
Shared & Reciprocal learning

“ As my co-worker viewed my story it stimulated emotions and experience from her own personal journey, resulting in a shared conversation on the importance of nursing’ presence’. It then dawned on me that this is exactly the purpose of the digital story. The goal being not only to be enlightened myself, but to facilitate enlightenment in others.
 
I hope that my project will cause viewers to take pause and reflect on the relationships and daily lives of their elderly patients. I hope it will provide nurses impetus to really listen to their elderly patients.

I learned from my classmates about various theories, but I really learned so much more about them as nurses through their stories.

 
Transformative:

My care and regard for the elderly will forever be changed from the making of this video and reflecting on g……’s letters from a theoretical approach.

I am a re-awakened nurse because of this project. Thank-you.

The concept of resilience definitely applied to both R…. &I. In thinking back, this story has definitely affected me and has allowed me to feel free to reach for another level of understanding in nursing. I know now I can step up to new challenges face them head on.

This digital story assignment helped me to see a different side of my classmates. As I watched their stories (some several times), I reflected on my personal nursing practice and wondered….am I connecting with patients? Am I using intuition? Am I really listening? Am I the nurse I want to be?

 
Challenges:

Voice- hearing oneself

“ The greatest challenge for me was doing the voice recording. I am generally a shy reserved person that doesn’t like public speaking. I probably recorded the script 25 times”.
 
My greatest challenge was with the narration of the story. I recorded myself at least a dozen times.
 
I struggled with the narration. I am much more comfortable expressing myself through writing & am generally a shy person. Since it was required, I simply had to get over my insecurities and do it. Writing a script first, helped me organize my thoughts and get in my comfort zone.

 

 Reflections (faculty perspective):
With the increase of interactive technology and a mandate to engage advanced practice nurses and educators, digital stories created:
• relevance to practice in a theory-driven graduate level nursing course
• transformative learning  in actually stretching students to 'push the envelope'
•an interesting pedagogic tool  for further exploration and use in the traditional learning setting of graduate school
•opportunity for graduate students to personally share & engage in an opportunity to Make (their) Learning Visible